'Playboy Club' Cancellation: What Hollywood, Viewers Are Saying

After three weeks on the air, NBC has canceled its controversial series, The Playboy Club.

our editor recommends

From 'Do No Harm' to 'The Playboy Club': TV's Quickest Cancellations

'Playboy Club's' Sean Maher Comes Out: 'It Feels So Liberating'

How 'Pan Am,' 'Playboy Club' Re-Created Iconic Looks From the '60s

Unilever, Chrysler/Dodge Targeted in 'Playboy Club' Ad Boycott Campaign

'Playboy Club': Gloria Steinem Advocates Boycott of NBC Series

NBC Affiliate Refuses to Air 'The Playboy Club'

NBC's 'The Playboy Club' Argues It's All About Women's Empowerment

PHOTOS: 10 TV Shows Canceled Faster Than 'The Playboy Club'

With NBC slotting Brian Williams' new primetime newsmagazine show, Rock Center, beginning Monday, Oct. 31 after a few weeks of Prime Suspect repeats, the 1960s-set drama's demise wasn't exactly a shocker. Premiering Sept. 20 to 5 million viewers and a 1.6 rating in the advertiser-coveted adults 18-49 demo, the Eddie Cibrian-led series faced an uphill battle, finding itself engaged in a war of words with the Parents Television Council.

The PTC targeted the show early on for objectifying women since the network made the series pickup in May. But executive producer Chad Hodge downplayed the controversy after Gloria Steinem called for a boycott and an NBC affiliate refused to air it.

PHOTOS: PTC vs. TV: 10 Television Show Controversies

"I think there’s a perception of the show that’s false," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "There are different brands of feminism and I don’t think it should be boxed into any one version."

Modern Family writer Danny Zuker tweeted, "NBC to 'Playboy Club' actors: 'You can start shaving your pubes, again.' " Meanwhile, Brian Lynch wrote, "'Playboy Club' being canceled does NOT bode well for my new show, 'Hustler Shack.' "

COVER STORY: Hugh Hefner: 10 Truths Behind the Playboy Legend

Here are what others are saying about Playboy Club's demise:

James Poniewozik
NBC cancels THE PLAYBOY CLUB, proving the power of protesting TV shows. Or, um, not watching them.

Jason Lynch
And it's official. RIP Playboy Club. You will not be missed. And sorry women, you'll have to be "empowered" someplace else.

Erin Quill
Wow, The Playboy Club was canceled already? Seriously? Just when the world was going to learn the Bunny Bend and Snap!

Dee
The Playboy Club was canceled.. Good! That show sucked.

Barry Hertz
NBC gives full-season order to Whitney. If only Playboy Club hired Cummings as a Borscht Belty comic who dressed up as a sexy nurse.

Andrea Bredow
What is Chicago going to do w/o Leann Rimes?

William West
If Pan Am's canceled, I hope a plane crashes into a branch of the Playboy Club. Then Don Draper can do an ad campaign to reassure passengers

Alexis Loinaz
Oof, Playboy Club just canceled. Guess 'em bunnies weren't quite so hoppin'.

Siobhan Mandell
my fav new show The Playboy Club got cancelled. Now il never know if the mob finds out Bunny Maureen killed Bruno Bianchi :(

Jacob Kaucher
Apparently @bwilliams is sexier than 'Playboy Club' when it comes to ratings